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Tarheels show well at ACI but fall at the final hurdle
ACI Tournament (Final)
Monday, January 19th, 2009
Tallahassee, Florida — Not really knowing how they would fair in Florida, the Tarheels took the field on Saturday morning in Tallahassee against Georgia Tech. But any fears and reservations were soon swept aside as they scored quickly and often against a big and strong Yellow Jacket team. Despite never giving in, they were simply no match out wide against a back line strengthened by the return of Sam Giffin and Ade Ayodele and the arrival of Uruguay exchange student Gaston Tarabal Villa.
Next up was old foe NC State. New faces in their line up and an early score made the Tarheels smell blood in the water and an opportunity put one on their old pals from Raleigh. 4 tries from Alex Lee and a flawless kicking display from Gregor MacLennan saw them go to a 24-0 halftime score. But to their credit NC State never gave up and limited UNC to just a single Ade Ayodele score in the 2nd half.
The final game of the day was against Boston College. Earlier in the day a rusty BC side lost to Wake Forest and Florida State but anyone who knows anything about rugby and saw them play knew that they were going to be a different proposition in the later stages of the tournament.
The Tarheels started well and got out to a great start. Alex Lee's touchdown and accurate kicking from Gregor MacLennan pushed them out to a 15-0 halftime lead. Boston College came back and pushed for victory in the second half but UNC held on for a narrow 15-13 win.
Because of the pool system being played, the 2 best teams from Day 1 would end up facing each other (UNC & FSU) while NC State and Boston College (both 0-3) would fight for a place in the final.
FSU on their home pitch (who convincingly beat BC the day before) would be a tough nut to crack. But with a strong wind on their backs the Tarheels played some great rugby to build a an 18-0 lead at halftime. Evan Rose crashed over through the centers then Daniel Van Niekerk got on the end of a sweeping move to score out wide. The second half saw a new hard edge to this young Tarheels side and that was stoic defence which refused to concede a point.
Boston College had easily beaten NC State 32-0 in the other semi-final and had managed to keep back many of their frontline players. The final was one game too far for the Tarheels, and in a torrential downpour more suited to the Northeast than Florida, Boston College's more senior and experienced forwards were able to dominate.
So despite losing to Boston College in the final 20-0, the Tarheels can approach this season with alot of optimism. They played very well, scored alot of points and showed the promise that we all know is there.
Before starting the matrix games at home to Clemson then Tennessee, the Tarheels will travel to Winston-Salem to play Wake Forest who finished this w/e 4-0 but didn't make the semi-final on points difference. The Demon Deacons have openly stated that they are going to beat UNC on the 31st January and the Tarheels will have their hands full.
UNC Lineup:
Man of the Match:
Tries:
Conversions:
Penalties:
Drop Goals:
Reported by
Modified Feb 01, 2009. 08:42 pm